Battles with Wolves
by Sofricus Aurora Zakuro
Summary: The sequel to Lone Wolf. Zakuro is struck down with a deadly disease only her true love can cure. Pie is stricken with amnesia after a spaceship accident. Can the Mews save their friend in time? PXZ, obviously
1. A Free Period With Your Beaus

Battles with Wolves

**A/N: **Here it is: the sequel to Lone Wolf! I wasn't originally intending to write this, but LW was far more popular than I expected. And no, this does _not _mean I'm abandoning my Collection of Romantic TMM Songfics, I just need to get these plot bunnies out of my head.

**Summary: **It's been a few months since the Mews' defeat of Scarlet Red, but unbeknownst to them, one of her robots was not destroyed, but lies broken and beaten on the face of a desolate planet. Under the influence of a vengeance program designed by its mistress, the robot infects Zakuro with a deadly, poisonous disease that only her true love can cure. But Pie is suffering from amnesia due to a terrible accident, and the Mews and aliens are busy fighting the Saint Rose Crusaders, who will not leave them alone. Can they save Zakuro in time??

**A NOTE ON TIMING: "Lone Wolf" took place before the events of _Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode. _"Battles with Wolves" takes place just after the end of _A La Mode, _so Berry, Tasuku, the Crusaders, and any other characters from those books are subject to usage. For the curious, the Berry/Tasuku pairing WILL be in effect. I am NOT a Berry basher, so no asking! **

**Disclaimer: **Mia Ikumi owns _Tokyo Mew Mew _and _Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode. _I own the late Scarlet Red and her robots.

**Prologue**

Miles from Earth, on the face of a deserted planet, a broken pile of metal lay in a pitiful heap. There was nobody to see it, nobody to observe its plight but the darkness of space itself.

But if there were any living observers (which there weren't,) they would have known that the pile had laid there for months, ever since a devastating fall from a spaceship far above. They would know that the pile of metal had not moved an inch since that fall…until today.

For this was no ordinary scrap metal. This was a robot, created and programmed by the late alien villainess Scarlet Red, recently destroyed by five Earth superheroes and one of her own aliens. This robot was called Zalka, and she was supposed to have been destroyed in the same confrontation that finished her mistress. But somehow, her innermost hard drive had not malfunctioned after the fall, and she was still alive—as alive as any robot could be.

She had not moved for months because her emergency program was coming into effect. Scarlet Red had not been stupid, and she had made a plan to ensure vengeance even after her death. As Zalka lay there, her wires reprogramming themselves, her metal body began to fill with a deadly poison. A poison that, if it came in contact with the skin of a human, would cause them to die in forty-two days' time—a most slow and painful death, of course.

Now, Zalka's computer-chip eyes opened for the first time since she'd plummeted off the ship. The program was finished, and the humanoid robot—now banged, cracked, and badly mutilated—was ready to wreak vengeance in the name of Scarlet Red.

A computerized voice—thin and whiny, as her voice box had been smashed in the fall—echoed across the surface of the deserted planet. "Poison set into action. Plan X-Vengeance begun. Target: Mew Zakuro Fujiwara, human of Earth."

**Chapter One**

"Welcome to Café Mew Mew, sir! Enjoy your yummy lunch, na no da!" a hyper voice proclaimed from the door of a small café in Tokyo, Japan, on the planet Earth.

The tall, purple-haired man at the door smiled. "Thank you, Pudding, for the most effusive greeting, but I'm afraid I'm not here for food—unless you would by any chance have any pomegranates?"

The short yellow-haired girl known as Pudding Fong grinned at her alien friend. "Hi, Pie! You have come for pomegranates, na no da? They is in the back room."

Pie, the alien who had once attacked Earth under the orders of Scarlet Red's brother, Deep Blue, but was now an ally of the planet, grinned cheekily as he passed through the crowded café. He opened the door marked "Employees Only," striding through easily as one who was accustomed to being there. He entered the kitchen, where a tall, glamorous, purple-haired girl in the uniform of one of the café's waitresses was washing dishes, her back to him.

Stealthily, Pie crept up behind the girl. When he was but a few inches behind her, he put his mouth up to her ear and said, kind of loudly, "Hi, Lone Wolf!"

"Aaagh!! Pie, don't _do _that!" the girl—who was Pie's new girlfriend, Zakuro Fujiwara, model, werewolf, and member of the elite superhero group Tokyo Mew Mew—shrieked, as she jumped almost a foot in the air. "You'll make me break dishes—and Lettuce does that often enough as it is!"

Pie giggled childishly. "Sorry, Zakuro. You're just so _fun _to scare. But…" here he adapted a mock-serious tone, giving her a slight bow, "…I have acted wrongly. Allow me to apologize."

Zakuro grinned. As always, she was unable to be mad at Pie for long. "It's all right. Since…" she now adapted a vixenish smirk, "…I know you _did _come just to see me, didn't you?"

Pie laughed. "Of course! How could I not, fair maid? You are sweeter than all the cakes in this erstwhile café, and more beautiful than the roses that spread their petals in the garden outside. Yes, I came only to fill mine eyes with the sight of thy fairy-tale beauty," he proclaimed dramatically.

A high-pitched laugh came from the other side of the room. A blonde girl, her uniform a stark white color, stood in the door leading to the pantry. "Pie, Pie, Pie. You should know by now that your girl isn't one easily won over by flowery words. And Zakuro—Ryou says to tell you that he'll let you take an hour off, since Pie _did _come all the way from outer space to—how did he say it—fill his eyes with the sight of your fairy-tale beauty." With that, Berry Shirayuki, the newest addition to Tokyo Mew Mew, turned and walked back the way she had come.

"Tell Ryou I said thanks, then, Berry," Zakuro called after her friend as Berry walked away to talk to her boss, the café's owner and creator of the Mew project, Ryou Shirogane. She then turned to Pie, "Well, my alien love, since my oh-so-strict boss has finally lightened up enough to give me some time to be with you, where shall we go?"

Pie smiled. "Poor Ryou doesn't know what he's getting into. Kish and Tart are coming down too, and soon _their _girlfriends will want extra breaks too. Ah, the cost of lightening up toward your employees…" Pie finished with a dramatic sigh.

By this time, they were walking back through the café proper, and Pudding, doing her usual acrobatic dances while somehow managing to serve tables at the same time, had heard Pie's words. She flopped down from the double-monkey-back-flip she'd been attempting while carrying a crème brulee in each hand and whipped around to face the alien. "TAR-TAR'S COMING??" she exclaimed, practically bouncing off the walls at the mention of her alien boyfriend's name. 'Tar-tar is coming to see Pudding, na no da? Yay yayzees woop dee doo!!!" Pudding screamed. She performed a plate-twirling tornado spin while depositing the crème brulee on a table before dashing off toward the back room. "ICHIGO!! KISH AND TAR-TAR ARE COMING TO SEE US, NA NO DA!!"

The blue-haired girl working the cash register, Mint Aizawa, stifled giggles as the familiar sound of crashing dishware marked Pudding's trail of excited destruction back in the kitchen. "Nice, Pie. Ryou's going to hate you for this."

Just as the words escaped the bird Mew's lips, Ryou came bursting through the "Employees Only" door, followed by the two other men who worked at the café with him (Berry's boyfriend Tasuku and Mint's beau Keiichiro). "Pie, _why _in the world did you three have to pick _today _to come visit your significant others?? We're busy, and now we're short an entire set of plates and three mugs thanks to you telling Pudding that Tart's coming to visit her."

Pie grinned wickedly as he wrapped an arm around Zakuro's waist. "Because, cat-boy, we were nearly dying of loneliness separated from our true loves. Plus," the sly smile returned to his face as he spoke these next words, "I know from a primary source that you and Lettuce have barely spent any time together these past few weeks."

Both Ryou and the bespectacled, green-haired girl who had followed Keiichiro out of the kitchen adopted furious blushes, something that made Mint laugh even harder, until she was nearly on the verge of choking.

Ryou sighed and turned to his own girlfriend, the Mew Lettuce, whose DNA was infused with that of the finless porpoise. "You traitorous girl," he informed her, "You…" he trailed off, as Pudding, Berry, and the one Mew who had not yet put in an appearance strode in from the back.

Ichigo Momomiya, cat-girl and leader of Tokyo Mew Mew, proceeded to give Ryou one of her infamous death glares. "Mr. Shirogane, my erstwhile boss…give up. You've lost this battle."

Ryou heaved a deep sigh, his golden hair falling in his eyes, the perfect picture of the dejected businessman. He spoke in a flat voice, but both Zakuro and Pie could tell he wasn't as unhappy as he acted. "Fine. The café is closed for the day. Go enjoy a free period with your beaus—and count your blessings. This won't happen again soon."

"Thank you Ryou oh thank you so much Tar-Tar and I will be thanking you forever na no da!!" Pudding exclaimed, giving her boss a big hug around the waist.

"That's…quite…enough…Pudding," Ryou choked out, as he scanned the faces of his employees, co-workers, and Pie, looking for some sympathy. But now, even the usually staid Zakuro was on the verge of hysterics. It was that funny.

"Gah, sometimes I wonder how I put up with working in that café," the werewolf Mew remarked an hour later, seated on a bench in a small park quite a distance from her place of employment.

Pie smiled, draping his arm lightly around her shoulders. "Because you have some amazing hidden reserves of patience that I quite envy, Lone Wolf. Patience like yours sure would come in handy dealing with Kish and Tart every single day of your life."

Zakuro uttered a small laugh at this. "I doubt putting up with Pudding, Ichigo, and Lettuce—not to mention Ryou—on a daily basis is any easier. Or some of the girls in my modeling agency. Or the paparazzi. Or…"

Pie put a finger on her lips before she could continue. "Okay, okay, love, you have to put up with worse than I do. You win."

He was rewarded only with a weary smile from the violet-haired girl. "Is something wrong, Lone Wolf?" he asked her.

Zakuro frowned slightly. "It's just…I got a headache when Pudding started yelling—I always do—but it still hasn't gone away. I really don't feel that great, to tell the truth."

Pie stood up and bowed gallantly. "Then, fair lady, let me be your escort back to your place of residence. Rest is what you need—and, knowing you, without outside help, you won't allow yourself any." He took Zakuro's hand, closing his fingers around the long, pale ones. "Let me have the honor of teleporting you there."

Usually, Zakuro would resist his flamboyant display of alien skills, but right now, it was just what she needed. So she allowed herself to be pulled gently to her feet, and whipped through the air at hyper-speed as Pie teleported to right outside the stately mansion she called home.

"There you go, Lone Wolf. I hope you feel better soon…" he said, kind of awkwardly. He hoped the usually aloof Zakuro would accept the fact that he cared for her and didn't want her feeling unwell…

His werewolf gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Pie. You're always so caring," she told him before kissing him goodbye. They stood there for several moments, invisible to the ordinary human eye, wishing as they always did that the moment could go on forever.

But, of course, it didn't, and soon she broke away. "I'll come check on you, alright?" Pie asked. She simply nodded her acceptance, a strained smile gracing her beautiful face.

"Thanks, Pie," she replied seriously as she turned from her love and walked slowly inside the mansion.

_Authorized to enter? _the security camera (a birthday present from Ryou two years ago)

"Yes. It's Zakuro," she told the droid wearily.

_Password? _

She blushed slightly, realizing that he wouldn't be able to help overhearing the password she'd made up.

"Daisuke, Pie."she told it.

_Verified. Enter, Zakuro. _The gate clicked open and Zakuro strode inside, her shoulders slumped slightly with pain.

Pie watched for a moment before teleporting back to the austere world of the alien dimension.

A/n: Mostly just a teaser. Real action starts next chapter. R&R

I love Pie in Japanese


	2. I'm Not About to Crash

Battles with Wolves

Chapter Two

**A/N**: This story might be a little longer than LW, and with shorter chapters, at least at first. Warning: the action comes VERY quickly in this one. I try to put in some pauses—but Zakuro and Pie have their own ideas about where this is going. Now, I've got Pudding to do the disclaimer for me:

**Pudding (Disclaimer): **Sofricus Aurora Zakuro is not owning me—because I own me—or Tar-Tar—because I own him too—or the rest of TMM—because Mia Ikumi owns that. She is owning Karra, Dante, the planet mentioned at the end—and Zalka, even though she isn't in this chapter, na no da!

**Tart**: You don't own me! And don't call me Tar-Tar!

**Pudding**: Tar-Tar, na no da.

**Tart**: AAUGH!!

**Pie:** Shut up midget, I want my story! Do you hear me? I WANT MY STORY!!! (Pie begins crying)

**Pudding:** The chapter will begin now, na no da.

CHAPTER TWO

The vacuum of space passed outside of Pie's window as he piloted his small single-person spaceship in lazy circles. It was what Pie _did _when he was bored, the way some people did crossword puzzles or drank tea. And he was bored—not to mention worried about Zakuro.

He'd tried to visit her twice already, but her strict maid had shooed him away, saying only that "Lady Zakuro's condition has worsened. She is in no state to receive visitors, though she sends her love." And as much as he'd pressed Karra (the maid,) she'd given no information as to _what _disease his wolf had exactly. Day after day it had been the same…and now he was worried. So worried that his calm, frigid exterior was cracking in some places…that's why he'd had to get out.

As Pie lost himself in his musings, the ship jerked hard to the left and went into a spin. The alien calmly began pressing buttons and turning the wheel, and soon had the ship righted again.

But he was somewhere he didn't recognize. He usually tried to keep their ship in sight whenever he went out on his solo "outings," not because he was afraid of getting lost, but because he didn't trust Kish or Tart to pilot the ship without him. _Especially _not Tart. The tall alien shuddered at the memory of last time he'd let the short one pilot by himself…

_**Flashback**_

"_Tart, you idiot!! What exactly is this mess?" he stormed. "I go down to earth to collect some data and I return to find…this?"_

_Tart cowered, his brown pigtails drooping. "Pie…I didn't mean to…I thought it was a laser!"_

"_You WHAT? You mistook my SHAVING CREAM BOTTLE for a LASER??" Pie rarely lost control, but this was too much. He'd known Tart was stupid, but this…_

"_Er…yeah! It…had a little shooty-thingy on top!" Tart looked even more pathetic, faced with his compatriot's wrath. _

_Pie's frown deepened. "You were being stupid, **Taruto. **Now, do you know how long this will take to clean?" Tart shook his head. "Then GET WORKING!!" Tart scurried off, not eager for any more of Pie's tirade. _

_Pie rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Just when he thought the situation couldn't get worse, he heard the mocking voice of their heretofore silent companion from behind him._

"_Say, Pie-san…I didn't know you shaved." _

"Pie. Earth to Pie." Dante, the solo-ship's scout robot, clicked. The alien was jolted from the horrific memory. He turned angrily toward the silver face-shaped blob. After the incident in which he'd been forced to use his robots at short notice to rescue Zakuro, he'd worked on making them more efficient…at a price. They were now incredibly rude. He rubbed his temples, definitely feeling a headache coming on.

"Did you hear me, big-ears? We are going to crash in five…four…three…"

Pie whipped his head around. "Dante! Why didn't you tell me this…"

"Two…one…impact!"

For a fraction of a second, Pie's rational mind told him, _This is not happening. You did not just neglect your ship in an uncharted area. You are not about to crash into some unknown planet or asteroid. You did not just demonstrate Tart-like traits by being incredibly stupid. _

Pie's emotional, often irrational, side took control then. "Yeah! And might as well say Zakuro's not sick while you're at it!" He banged on the control panel, on the sides of the ship, on Dante, on anything that came to reach.

In the course of the alien's ill-timed tantrum, the impact Dante had predicted came to be. The individual ship crashed onto the surface of a planet unknown to either of its occupants.

Pie's smashing turned to grabbing as he finally realized what was coming to pass. His grasps were as futile as his smashes, however, and he was thrown headfirst from the vehicle.

A strangled cry escaped his lips. It sounded nothing like "Zakuro," but it was probably what he was trying to say. His head crashed against a rock, and then nothing more.

_On the faraway planet, Zalka's metallic limbs twitched again. Her raspy, ruined voice spoke for the second time since her long-ago fall. "The true love…has been dealt with. Plan X-Vengeance…still…successful," she croaked._

_Though, as mentioned before, there were absolutely no onlookers, if there had been, they would have been convinced they were hearing things. For as soon as the robot finished speaking, anyone listening in would have thought they heard the faintest echo of maniacal laughter, far away, as though coming from a distant star._

A/N: Well, that was chappie 2. I realized that I had Zakuro and Pie rather out of character throughout the entirety of LW and the first chapter of this one. They aren't the kind for romantic moments, but I put them through so many such scenes. Therefore, I tried to do a little with a darker, moodier Pie, which seems more right for him…tell me what you guys think. Also, check out my new site chock full of TMM goodies (check my profile for info)

SAZ


	3. We Came to Visit, na no da

Battles with Wolves

Chapter 3

**A/N: **Now that Pie is in sufficient danger, I'll leave you to worry another chapter and give an update on Zakuro. First, I have Ryou as the disclaimer today.

**Ryou: **glare

**SAZ: **Please…

**Ryou: **still glaring

**SAZ: **I'll put in fluff between you and Lettuce this chapter!

**Ryou (Disclaimer): **SAZ does not own myself, Lettuce, or the rest of Tokyo Mew Mew, as they are owned by Mia Ikumi. She does however own Zalka and Karra.

**SAZ: **Good Ryou! You can have Lettuce now. throws Lettuce at Ryou

**Lettuce: **Ow!!

**Ryou: **YOU HURT HER!! runs at SAZ

**Lettuce: **Ryou…don't…

**SAZ: **The story will begin now.

CHAPTER THREE

"Lady Zakuro…" Karra Crescent poked her head around the supermodel's bedroom door. "Erm…are you awake, Lady Zakuro?"

Zakuro lay in the bed, her violet eyes cracked slightly open. It was four days since Pie had brought her home with a headache, and her sickness had worsened greatly. She spent most of the day with a severe headache, she was sweating a lot, and she could barely keep any food down because of constant nausea. The doctor had been unable to identify her disease on sight, so he had taken some blood samples back to his lab.

In those four days, Zakuro had left the bed only to change when her clothes got too sweaty. Karra constantly hovered around, bringing the werewolf food or anything else she desired. She hadn't let Zakuro have any visitors, but today was going to be different. She wanted to see her friends and Pie. Lone Wolf she might be, but even she couldn't go too long without seeing other people.

"Yes, Karra, I'm awake," she told the maid.

"You…have visitors. Your friends from the café…though your…" Karra tittered nervously, "boyfriend is not with them. Should I send them off?"

Zakuro shook her head. "I'm feeling OK, well enough to receive visitors at least. Send them up, please, Karra."

The maid nodded, and a minute later, her orange head disappeared around the corner. Zakuro heard one pair of feet descend the stairs, and, a few moments later, several more pairs ascend.

The oak doors of the model's bedroom slid open to reveal the other five Mews as well as Ryou, Keiichiro, and Tasuku. Keiichiro was carrying a white box and Mint was holding something behind her back.

It was Lettuce, always the caring one, who spoke first. "Zakuro—how are you feeling? Are you alright?"

The wolf Mew managed a falsely cheerful reply. "I feel great, Lettuce. I'll probably be alright within a week or so." Lettuce grinned at that.

"Pie misses you," Ichigo added abruptly. "He couldn't be here today because…"

Pudding cut her off. "Tar-tar broke the lost button on Pie's ship or something, na no da."

Keiichiro laughed at this. "Silly Pudding. It's called a _tracking device, _not a _lost button. _Anyway, Zakuro, Pie really did say to tell us he misses you and that…" the chef blushed slightly.

"He loves you lots," the ever-blunt Berry put in. "And he'll check in on you as soon as he can, but until then, just sends his love."

"Oh, and we brought you something. Tell her, Mint," Tasuku insisted.

Mint smiled. "Oh, yes. Keiichiro made you his special feel-better cake and Ichigo and myself found some special comforting herbal tea for you." She held out the package behind her back, which turned out to be several teabags. Keiichiro gave her his white box, too, which had his feel-better cake (a chocolate one that said Get Well Soon) inside.

Zakuro smiled slightly. _I have such caring friends, _she thought. "Thanks, guys. You really are the best."

"Pudding wanted to do tricks for Zakuro to make her smile and feel better, but Ichigo said not to, na no da," the monkey put in.

Everyone groaned at the thought of Pudding's displays. "Well…" Mint finally said. "We'd better go. But I hope you feel better."

"We all do." Ichigo added.

Everybody except Ryou and Lettuce headed toward the door. When Berry looked back, Ryou shook his head. "Go on. We want to have a word with Zakuro." She nodded, and closed the door behind her.

Ryou, suddenly serious, turned to face the sick girl. "The doctor was unable to find out what you have?"

Zakuro nodded. "He's analyzing my blood samples."

There was a moment's pause before Ryou spoke again. "May I as well?"

Lettuce hurriedly cut in. "What Ryou means is…the doctor might be confused by the gray wolf DNA you've got…he's not used to analyzing stuff from people that are part animal. So we're worried that that might throw him off and cause him to falsely diagnose you. Ryou…knows about your DNA, so he…has a better chance of giving a correct diagnosis." She blushed, hoping she hadn't offended her friend.

But Zakuro merely nodded. "I neglected to think of that. Go ahead." She held out one white arm, and Ryou quickly took a blood sample and stored it.

"I'll try to get this analyzed as soon as possible. And in the meanwhile—get well, Zakuro." her boss told her. Lettuce nodded, then followed her boyfriend out.

Zakuro smiled slightly and leaned back. _Ryou and Lettuce sure were acting strange…but I shouldn't worry. I'm so tired, after all…_Within three minutes, she was asleep.

Outside the mansion, Lettuce turned worriedly to her love. "You didn't…tell her?"

Ryou frowned. "You mean tell her that Masha was acting up when we got near her room and kept going 'Alien! Alien!'? No."

The porpoise Mew shuddered nervously. "Well, you programmed him to stop reacting to Kish, Pie, and Tart, right? So does this mean…"

A single glance into Ryou's cerulean eyes confirmed her suspicions. "That disease of hers is nothing normal. There's alien influence…_powerful _alien influence…behind it. That's why I was so eager to get the blood samples."

Lettuce shuddered even more. "I hope…I hope Zakuro isn't in danger."

Ryou turned to his distressed girlfriend. "It's all right, love. We'll do all we can. Meanwhile…don't worry about it." He put a finger under her chin and tilted it up. "Promise?"

Even though they'd been dating for several months now, Lettuce still blushed at his touch. "Promise."

A slight smile ghosted over his features. "That's my good girl," he said softly. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before they headed off back to the café, both hoping against hope that their hypothesis would prove false.

A/N: Chappie 3 done, folks.


	4. You Seem to have CrashLanded

Battles with Wolves

Chapter 4

**A/N: **Triple update—woo!! I've finally had inspiration on this thingy. And today, to apologize for throwing her yesterday, our Disclaimer guest is…drumroll please…LETTUCE MIDORIKAWA!!

**Lettuce: **Hi, and I'm glad to be here! By the way, I just want to say Arigato for putting me and Ryou romance in the last chapter blushes

**SAZ: **My pleasure, Lettuce.

**Lettuce (Disclaimer): **And now, SAZ does not own TMM because Ikumi does, but she owns Zalka, Yeffer, and the Cheese Planet.

**SAZ: **Arigato, Lettuce.

**Lettuce: **You're welcome…now the chapter will begin!

Chapter 4

His eyes opened, and he knew oblivion.

He was…where was he? What was he doing there? He couldn't remember a thing. A thought pierced the panic and floated calmly across his brain.

_I have amnesia. Otherwise I wouldn't just be sitting here not knowing where or who I was. I was in some sort of accident, and now I can't remember a thing. _

That calm thought was soon followed by another. _Remembering who I am probably shouldn't be first on my mind. I need to figure out what kind of place this is, and where best to get food and medical treatment. _

Medical treatment—yes, that would be necessary. He reached a hand up to his hair and found it clotted with a substance he guessed was blood. His left ankle, too, hurt rather severely.

But the pain could be ignored, until he found a solution or at least a way to ease it. Propping himself up on his elbows, the survivor of the accident—gosh, I need to think of a name, he told himself—surveyed his surroundings for the first time.

He was on a bare yellow plain, a desolate wasteland of rock that felt…spongy, like thick foam. The sky above him was orange-tinted, with neither clouds nor sun evident. Rather, it seemed the atmosphere itself gave off a sort of luminescence that was enough to see by.

A jab in his knee alerted him to the fact that he lay among several shards of glass or metal. _A crash of some sort, _he reasoned, _most likely a vehicle. _The amnesia victim searched, hoping to find some clue as to what it had been—perhaps the knowledge would serve as a memory key—but it was too finely ground. The largest piece was a sort of deformed head shape cracked in two. After seeing what looked to be writing scrawled on a bit of plate metal, he examined it. The word was DANT…and then a jagged, broken edge, and it meant nothing to him, no matter how hard he wracked his brain.

"Sir? Are you alright, sir?"

He turned, hand instinctively clenching—as though around the handle of something, a weapon? Strange, he obviously had some sort of clutching reflex. Better store that in memory for later use.

"Sir, I'm not going to hurt you, sir. You seem to have crash-landed on my planet, sir. Are you injured, sir? Do you need anything, sir?"

"Your planet…wait, did you say crash _landed_…where am I? Who are you?" He turned, facing the other voice for the first time.

A plump man of about thirty stood there, a short, stout fellow that couldn't have been more than five feet in height. He had a round face, smiling hazel eyes, and a mop of untidy yellowish-orange hair that flopped in an unruly manner around his face. He wore a white shirt and brown overalls, and was holding…a large chunk of yellow cheese?

"Well, to answer your questions, sir…it's not really my planet, sir, just that I'm the only human…humanoid…inhabitant, sir, there are plenty of animals, I'm sure it's their planet too, sir. Crash-landed—I don't know how you got here, sir, I'm just assuming you crashed some sort of spacecraft, sir. Who I am—I'm Yeffer, sir, and this is…well, its formal name is too long, sir, so I just call it the Cheese Planet. And who are you, sir, and are you hurt, sir?"

While the man—Yeffer—spoke, the accident survivor evaluated him. He seemed a bit odd, eccentric even, but overall rather harmless. And he spoke English, which was a plus.

"I…I'm afraid I don't know who I am. I have amnesia, presumably from the accident. And yes, I'm injured, but not seriously. I have a bruise on my head and a gash on my ankle—it's not broken, though."

Yeffer nodded, his hair bouncing with each bob of his small head. "Well, seeing as you've no idea where you're from, sir, or who you are, sir, you can feel free to stay as long as you like, sir, until you remember anything, sir. My house is less than a mile from here, sir, it's not a big place, but it's cozy and fine for two, and there's plenty of cheese to be had. I can get your scrapes fixed up too, sir." With that, Yeffer offered his hand.

The accident victim took the proffered hand and rose unsteadily to his feet. His ankle throbbed a little, but not severely. "Thank you for the generous offer. I think I'll take you up on it, Mr. Yeffer." _After all, _he thought. _I seem to be on this planet with no way of getting off, so what else is there to do? _

"Er…excuse me, sir, not to be rude, but…you need a name, sir," Yeffer ventured as they walked across the spongy ground (in which direction, he couldn't tell, as there was no sun to navigate by).

He nodded. He'd realized that fact too. "I'm afraid I haven't got a clue as to what my name is. I'll have to make one up…"

Yeffer frowned. "I don't know many names, sir, being the only human on this planet, but," he studied his companion, one hand under his chin in a thoughtful gesture. _I wonder what he sees. I've no clue what I look like, _the other thought.

"You look like…" Yeffer said after a moment of consideration, "a Sardon. Yes, Sardon, that would be a good name for you."

He nodded. "Sardon. I like it. It'll work for now. Thank you, Mr. Yeffer."

Yeffer fidgeted. "No need for the 'Mr.', Sardon. Just Yeffer would be fine, if you don't mind, Sardon."

He—Sardon, now—shook his head. "I don't mind." He paused and put a hand to his head. "Ugh. That bruise must be worse than I thought."

Yeffer frowned in a concerned manner. "Well, we're almost to my house, Sardon. I was just out for a morning walk when I found you, thank goodness I hadn't gone far, Sardon."

Sardon nodded. "Yes. Thank goodness." But he wasn't really paying attention to Yeffer's words. His brain was full with a single thought:

_I'm here, on a planet, presumably not the one I used to live on, considering Yeffer said he's the only inhabitant. I'm injured, under a name that's not mine, and I don't even know what I look like. And…it's kind of strange, but I keep getting the feeling that there's something urgent I **need **to remember—and soon. _

**A/N: **Ooh, Pie's forgotten who he is…and all about Zakuro. And he's living on a planet that's obviously bonkers about cheese. And—worst of all—he's going by SARDON! If he only knew…

Anyway, for those of you who haven't realized, the amnesiac Pie—that is, Sardon—will be VERY OOC from the regular Pie. Next chapter we'll check in on Ryou's investigation, and see Zakuro's confrontation with an idiotic doctor. grabs popcorn Anyway, R&R if you want more


	5. Ex Boyfriends Don't Make Good Doctors

Battles with Wolves

Chapter 5

**SAZ: **Well, now that we've got Pie…Sardon for now…safely on the Cheese Planet, we will now witness Zakuro's confrontation with her doctor. If anyone had noticed a certain TMM male's absence from the Lone Wolf series, well…I was saving him for now. I bet you've guessed who it is…but until then:

Today's disclaimer guest is MINT AIZAWA!

**Mint: **sips tea doing nothing

**SAZ: **Er, Mint, the disclaimer please?

**Mint: **It's below me. Get someone…common…to do it.

**SAZ: **(wheedling) Oh but _Mint_…if you don't do the disclaimer, you'll never get to read this story about your onee-sama…and you and Keiichiro…(snickers)

**Mint: **No!!!

**Mint (Disclaimer)**: SAZ does not own myself, my tea, my house, my clothes, my dog, my ballet costumes, Keiichiro, Onee-sama, or anyone or anything else in TMM. She owns Karra and Zalka. The story will begin now.

CHAPTER FIVE

Zakuro reclined in the bed, feeling pessimistic. _Day after day and I don't improve…I just get more and more exhausted…when is that stupid doctor going to come back…or better yet, Ryou, considering his diagnosis will probably be more correct…_

Her dazed thoughts were disrupted by Karra's timid voice. "Lady Zakuro…the doctor is here. Should I admit him?"

Zakuro nodded. She'd been pretty nauseous all day, but was feeling all right now, except for the ever-present headache.

Her fiery-haired head again disappeared and her small feet clicked gracefully down the staircase. She walked out to the small panel beside the oaken front doors that would let the doctor through the robot-controlled gate.

"Hello, Doctor. Lady Zakuro is in the upstairs bedroom. I shall escort you," Karra welcomed him with a curtsy.

The tall man with blue-black hair—almost navy—frowned slightly. He spoke in a voice with a slight English accent. "I'm sorry ma'am, I'm the assistant to the doctor this patient usually sees. Who is she again—I know she's some famous model, but don't quite know the name."

Karra nodded. "Zakuro Fujiwara is my lady mistress's name."

The doctor's eyes narrowed. _Zakuro Fujiwara? For nearly a year he'd managed to avoid dealings with **them**…_

"Ah well, lead me to Miss Fujiwara," he said curtly, and followed Karra up the stairs.

Zakuro's wolf-sharp hearing had picked up the two pairs of feet so long ago that Karra's timid knock was unnecessary. But, knowing that any mention of her powers still unnerved the timid girl, she pretended that she hadn't realized it and called out "Oh, Karra, you startled me. Come in."

Her amethyst eyes were fuzzy, so she didn't recognize the doctor instantly, but merely thought she saw something familiar about the tall, straight frame and almost-navy hair.

"Miss Fujiwara?" a voice that seemed to Zakuro disembodied, but she reasoned must come from the doctor, began in a clipped tone, "I'm sorry, but Dr. Davis is unable to take your case. I am his assistant, and I will be your doctor for the duration of this sickness.

The voice had seemed familiar—but it was the name that made it click. "_Masaya _Aoyama?" Zakuro asked incredulously. Of all the people she'd least expected to encounter again in her life, Ichigo's annoying, goody-goody ex-boyfriend was definitely on that list.

A moment later, though, and the shock was replaced by ice at the memory of all the hurt Ichigo had received at his hands. "Given up your tree-hugging ways to try and do something _useful _for people, eh?"

Masaya—Dr. Aoyama, now—frowned at this, but continued to speak in his clipped tones. "I do not like you, _Mew Zakuro_, but I am a doctor. You are my patient. I believe neutrality can be reached?" He phrased the last as a question.

The wolf Mew possessed quite a skill at arguing and debating—living in the cutthroat world of celebrities, one acquired such things—but she was too tired to do a demonstration. "I suppose. But I do not like being sick—have you a diagnosis?"

The doctor smirked, "You should be grateful that you are being treated by one who…knows. Dr. Davis was immediately confused by your Red Data DNA and confessed to me that he was afraid he was going crazy in his old age, because the samples told him you were a werewolf, and he turned the samples and the case over to me. I knew instantly who—or at least what sort of person—this blood had come from, and was able to overlook the gray wolf DNA to reach a diagnosis: You have a very dangerous hybrid of the rare Green Fever. But…I don't think you acquired it naturally. I think the disease was purposely sent into your veins by an alien."

Zakuro, despite her weakness, sat upright. "Alien? Are you trying to be _funny_, Dr. Aoyama! How would you even know what alien influence _is, _let alone that the disease running through me is full of it?"

Dr. Aoyama frowned. "Let me remind you, I was Deep Blue. I know what the mark of an alien's influence—at least _his _influence, looks like. And the alien that created the disease and infected you has an influence mark similar to his…only slightly different, as though from a relative."

Zakuro's pale face grew even whiter. A single thought floated across her mind. _Scarlet Red…but she's dead…_

Resignedly, she realized what course they must take. "Doctor Aoyama," she said in her sternest voice, "you must not tell _anyone _of this. And it seems you will have dealings with the Mew Mews once more…as much as we dislike you, you must report your finding to Ryou Shirogane right away."

The doctor nodded. "As you wish. When is Mr. Shirogane visiting you next?" he asked, his voice still cold.

"Tomorrow. Noon." Zakuro replied, equally cold.

Masaya Aoyama nodded. "I'll be there."

**SAZ: **So there it is…Zakuro knows her disease is not natural, and Masaya will have to co-exist with his enemies (they all hate him since he broke up with Ichigo) once again. Sorry for those of you who are Masaya bashers, but I don't hate him so there won't be any bashing. Gomen nasai.


	6. How The Cheese Planet Came to Be

Battles with Wolves

Chapter 6

**SAZ: **Well, I'm sure all of you are anxious to find out why there happens to be a Cheese Planet, and who that Yeffer fellow is anyway. So back to Pie—temporarily Sardon—to see. There won't be much action this chapter, because it's mostly backstory, but it's necessary backstory so I don't confuse all of you. And today, we have Berry in the disclaimer.

**Berry: **(hyper) I ate 10 cakes before I came here!

**SAZ: **Erm…then could you just get it over with please?

**Berry (Disclaimer)**: (while bouncing around) SAZ doesn't own anything Tokyo Mew Mew, especially not me. And Tasuku. And my cake. Oh but she does own Yeffer and the Cheese Planet and all the people mentioned in Yeffer's story.

**SAZ: **And before Berry wrecks anything, the story begins!

CHAPTER SIX

"So, you're certain you haven't got a clue of who you really are, Sardon?" Yeffer inquired.

Sardon nodded. It was three days since he'd awoken on the Cheese Planet **(A/N if you can't keep track of time because I'm constantly switching, this is the same day Zakuro confronted Dr. Aoyama), **and this was the first time the subject had come up.

Of course, they'd had more pressing matters to attend to. By the time they'd crossed out of the yellow rock-desert into a seemingly endless field of flat green grass, Sardon had been so dizzy Yeffer had to support him. By the time they'd reached an orange wood fence that enclosed Yeffer's house, a modest one-story affair of the same rock as the desert they'd come from, his vision was swirling and he'd thrown up twice. Yeffer had rushed him into bed and returned with ice packs and a thick, syrupy beverage that tasted nasty but Sardon accepted, guessing it to be medicine.

By the time he awoke, a day and a half later, the wound in his head was all but gone, though his ankle was still scarred and throbbed when he walked. He'd felt well enough to eat, and had enjoyed a meal of cheese…which seemed to be the only item of sustenance available on the planet, aside from water. It was after that meal, sitting peacefully at a small yellow wood table in Yeffer's equally small kitchen, that the older male voiced the question that was on both their minds.

"Hmm?" Sardon asked, having spaced out for a minute. "Oh? No, I haven't a clue. All I know is this: I'm from another planet, because you're the only human inhabitant here, and I crash-landed here in some sort of metal and glass vehicle. That's it."

Yeffer blinked his hazel eyes in a critical manner. "I have little to add to that, Sardon, except your physical description. You're about six feet in height, you're wearing black and purple, and as for your face—there's a mirror over there, Sardon."

The amnesiac nodded and rose, walking over to the small round of glass within its orange frame. He peered in, and examined his face in the silver surface.

It was pale and angular in shape, with large pointed ears and purple—lavender, rather—hair, short except for one piece separated from the rest with a wrapped ribbon. His mouth and nose were small, his eyes sharp and purple-black. The very edge of an angular scar poked out onto his forehead, most likely from the accident (as it hurt still). A fierce, stern-looking face, Sardon thought, but his own.

Then, as he continued to gaze upon the reflection he had no recollection of, something seemed to shift. The eyes he saw in the mirror were his own no longer, but a pair slightly larger and softer, their hue akin to amethyst. _Who…_he thought wonderingly, but in an instant, they were gone.

"Are you all right, Sardon?" his new friend asked concernedly from his place at the table. Abruptly, Sardon turned from the mirror and sat sharply down beside him. Ice was in his voice as he spoke. "Enough of me. What of you? How do you come to be the only human on a planet sustained by cheese?"

A sad cast entered Yeffer's friendly eyes. "It's a bit of a long story—but if you don't mind listening, I don't mind telling, Sardon," His eyes unfocused as though staring into the distance, and he began.

"Generations ago, there lived a fellow called Jefe on a planet whose name has been forgotten. He was rather simple-minded, but he was a skillful cook, especially good at cheese dishes. He had always an immense liking for cheese. By the time he was nineteen, he was supporting his parents and sister with a job as Head Chef to a great lord of the planet, and was betrothed to a lovely maiden called Johanna, whom he adored and she adored in return. All seemed going well for Jefe and his family, until disaster struck, as it is wont to.

War came to Jefe's planet, and the warriors suited up for battle, his father among them. He, as a simple cheese chef, was exempt from the fighting, but was terrified by it. Every day, he and his mother and his sister Jacey (who was a gardener) waited for news of their father. But day after day, it never came.

Then followed the inevitable. The father died, and Jefe was stricken. As I had said, he was simple-minded, and death was something he really didn't understand. He gradually became so distraught the people of the planet no longer wished his presence, so they exiled him, his family, and anyone who would go with them.

So Jefe, his mother, Jacey, his sweetheart Johanna and her parents, and Jacey's sweetheart Joshel (who was a geneticist) and his family fled. They fled in a spaceship until Jacey sighted a planet that she thought would bring Jefe pleasure. It was this planet, which at the time was just bare rock, and resembled the cheese that he loved to cook.

So the three families settled there, and with their combined talents made it a hospitable place. Jacey coaxed grass and trees to grow, and Joshel, who had brought his beloved pet cows, gradually bred a strain that produced different types of cheese instead of milk, and Jefe took the cheese and made wonderful delights with it. And they were happy, and peaceful. They eventually christened the planet Jefeareschel, which in the forgotten language meant 'The place where Jefe found peace'. It was called the Cheese Planet for convenience, usually.

Time went on. Jefe married Johanna, and Jacey married Joshel, and each couple had two children, Jeffrey and Joan and Yolanda and Yule. The children married each other, and _they _had children, on and on for several generations. Always there were at least two families, and by some miracle, always an even number of boys and girls, so each resident could find the same simple peace that Jefe found when he first settled this place. And that, Sardon, is the story of the Cheese Planet."

But Sardon could hear from Yeffer's voice that there was more that he had not told. "But," he asked, "if there was always couples to be married, what of you? You said you are alone…"

Sorrow again filled the simple cheese-lover's eyes. "Yes, I, too, was once not alone. I have not spoken of it to anyone…but I have never met another human, so I will entrust it to you, Sardon. Take a look there, Sardon." He pointed at the wall nearest them, on which hung a small portrait of a green-eyed girl with white-yellow hair holding a wrench in her hand.

"My Jaylee was beautiful, and kind, and so sweet, and one of the most skilled engineers the Cheese Planet has ever fostered. She loved tinkering with things, and there was so little to tinker with, so she tinkered with the very rocks from the desert or the branches from the trees. She was the second daughter of Jon and Yvette, as I was the second son of Ylan and Janice, so we were naturally a betrothed couple. There was mutual affection between us, and we were happy.

About ten years ago, the other couple of the planet, my older sister Jean and her husband, Jaylee's older brother Jonas, grew weary of this place—the first couple ever to do so. They wished to leave, so sweet Jaylee used her talents to somehow engineer them a spaceship of rock and branch. I know not how.

For a year the two of us lived alone, single because we were not yet twenty-one (the age of marriage here, as it as that age that Jefe wed Johanna) in complete and total happiness. Then a storm of proportion that had never come before and will never come again blew across the face of our planet. My Jaylee was out in the desert making something new of rock—she—she," here Yeffer began sobbing, "she tried to outrun the storm—but she was always a fragile creature…it's been nine years, Sardon, nine years, and I miss Jaylee as much as though it were yesterday!"

Yeffer began to sob as though Sardon were not present. Within minutes his hair, face, and outfit were drenched.

_He obviously misses Jaylee so terribly…I wonder if there was anyone I cared about so deeply, back when I knew who I was. _For a second, the amethyst eyes he had seen floated across his memory, but Sardon quickly brushed it away. _I shall not agonize over it. Memory might come with time. If not…well, I won't think about the "if not" right now._

A/N: That's chapter 6. Sorry if it was boring, but I needed to explain to my satisfaction why there happened to be a Cheese Planet. Next chapter you can look forward to Dr. Aoyama's clash with the Mews…and his ex-girlfriend, who might I add has _not _forgiven him.


	7. Masaya Trapped in a Blob of Jelly

Battles with Wolves

Chapter 7

**Sofri-chan: **(yes, I decided I didn't like SAZ) Hello and welcome to Battles With Wolves Chapter 7, coming soon to theaters and your local KTN.

**Kish: **What's KTN?

**Sofri-chan: **Kish Torture Network, of course!

**Kish: **AAAAHHH!! (runs away)

**Sofri-chan: **Drat! Now I haven't got anyone to do the disclaimer! (thinks then laughs evilly) Oh, but I have an idea. Oh _Dren…_

**Dren: **(stupidly) Hi.

**Sofri-chan: **Now, since your oh-so-more-popular Japanese double is being a chicken, would _you _like the honor of doing the disclaimer, Dren-kun?

**Kish: **No!! No, I'll do it! I'll even let you torture me! Just don't give up my job to him…

**Sofri-chan: **Then show me what you've got.

**Kish (Disclaimer): **Sofricus Aurora Zakuro a.k.a. Sofri-chan doesn't own anything TMM or MMP, however she owns Zalka, Karra, Dr. Davis…

**Sofri-chan: **and the Kish Torture Network, of course…

**Kish: **Ah, crazy lady with a heavy textbook!! (runs away)

**Sofri-chan: **He's gone, but I'm still angry. Hmm...oh, I know…Dren!!!

**Dren: **(stupidly) AAAAHHH!!! (runs)

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Heh heh heh, weaklings. Take that! And _that! _And THAT!" Blue Bayou laughed as he threw punches through the air at the five Mews below.

"Ooof!" One of the shots hit Ichigo, and she tumbled down from her position in the air alongside Mint.

"Ichigo!" Mint yelled and dived for her friend, but a second pair of arms had already caught the falling Mew.

"Koneko-chan, Koneko-chan," a low voice hissed jokingly in her ear, "Losing your balance again! It's as though you _want _a knight in shining armor to rescue you. Well, you'll just have to settle with a sword-wielding alien who'd willingly die for you…is that OK?"

"Kish!" Ichigo exclaimed as she found herself in her boyfriend's arms. Her pink eyes sparkled with happiness to see him, then darkened slightly. "I've had _enough _of knights, thank you. I'd much rather have you."

Kish inhaled sharply as he realized which knight his kitty was thinking of. "You OK?" he asked, and at her nod, released her to rejoin the battle, summoning his dragon swords as he did.

As she soared back up a few feet to where Lettuce and Berry were fighting, Ichigo realized that Kish wasn't the only one who had appeared. Tart was hovering beside Pudding, whirling his click-clack toy, his golden eyes glinting, eager to fight. A moment later the door burst open and Ryou, Keiichiro, and Tasuku on his rollerblades burst through, worried looks on their faces.

Before Ichigo could think about that, she noticed Blue Bayou had also been distracted by the men's appearance. As he turned his back, several shouts at once rang through the air.

"Ribbon Mint Echo! Ribbon Mint Echo! Ribbon Mint Echo!" The lorikeet Mew fired arrow after arrow into the Saint Rose Crusader's back. He turned around and struck at her, and she fell to the earth. Before any of the other mews could react, Keiichiro caught her, holding her limp form like a porcelain doll.

As Blue Bayou tried to pull the arrows out, another cry broke the momentary silence. "Ribbon Pudding Ring Inferno!" The blob of jelly surrounded the distracted Bayou, giving Berry and Ichigo time to attack.

"Ribbon Double-Berry Check!" they yelled, their combined pinkish white attack striking their opponent in the right arm.

"Argh!" With an angry yell, Blue Bayou disappeared, muttering something that sounded like "curse those darn Mew Mews" under his breath. The four mews still standing plus Kish and Tart floated back down to the top of the tower, to be met with a nervous, agitated Ryou.

"Girls, sorry if our appearance startled you. We just got some important news, and we needed to get you out of the battle first thing."

Berry frowned. "Is it bad news?"

Ryou nodded. "Rather. There are two things. Kish…"

The green-haired alien picked up where the blonde had left off. "Pie has gone missing! He hasn't been seen in days!"

"We've searched everywhere…but he's nowhere!" Tart added.

"We even tried to work his tracking machines…but face it, we're hopeless at technology." Kish finished.

Ichigo gasped. "That…what will we tell Zakuro?"

Tasuku spoke up. "Nothing yet. Ryou found out something else...about our friend's sickness. But we decided Zakuro needed to hear it too, so let's go!"

Ryou nodded, eyes steely. "Let's just say…Zakuro's life is in serious danger!"

Along the sidewalk, passerby turned to stare and gasp at a sight one usually didn't see on your average Saturday afternoon. Tokyo Mew Mew (at least part of it) were running down the street, and didn't look in very good shape. None of the girls had bothered to de-transform. Kish and Tart hovered over their loved ones, weapons out as if they were bodyguards. Keiichiro still carried Mint's unconscious form, and Tasuku raced ahead of the rest, blazing a path through the crowd for his friends behind.

At last, the five Mews, three humans, and two aliens reached Zakuro's doorway. Needless to say, Karra nearly had a seizure at the strange sight that awaited her, and probably would have called the police if she hadn't recognized Ryou as her mistress's boss at the café. As it was, she pressed herself against the gate fearfully as the frantic tensome (eleven, if you count a certain pink fluffy robot) raced up the stairs into their friend's bedroom.

Dr. Aoyama had been in Zakuro's room for nearly an hour, and already the sick model had nearly had enough of him. If it wasn't for the valuable knowledge he possessed, she'd have already kicked him out, for sure. Suddenly nervous at the thought of confronting his ex-girlfriend, his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend, and his ex-girlfriend's best friends who _weren't _bedridden with a potentially deadly disease, Masaya had been pacing for about twenty minutes, and he'd practically worn a furrow in the plush violet carpet. Zakuro, of course, had no sympathy. He'd been a brat to Ichigo, and she was a firm believer in "crime and punishment".

A frantic knock on the door, the sound of several pairs of feet thundering up the stares. The doctor's head went up, fear plastered on his face. Zakuro put a hand to her forehead, already feeling another headache.

Pudding hopped into the room, closely followed by Tasuku and then Ryou, Keiichiro with Mint, then Lettuce, Ichigo, Berry, (all of them still in mew form) Kish, and Tart.

Pudding grinned. "Zakuro, Zakuro, we're here na no da! All of us!"

Ichigo and Lettuce restrained Pudding as Ryou stepped forward. "Don't mind Pudding. We…all of us…came with the report. I'm afraid—the news is—not good."

They were saved from noticing Masaya's presence for a moment by Mint's awakening and her subsequent discovery that Keiichiro had carried her all the way from Tokyo Tower to Zakuro's house.

Once the blushing lorikeet girl was on her feet again, and she'd apologized to her boyfriend about 100 times or so, and he'd told her (100 times or so) that there was no need to be sorry, Ryou finally cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, Zakuro, the news is—not good at all."

Zakuro nodded. "I know. Turns out my doctor—well, I won't say he's not an ignoramus, but I _will _say that he is familiar with both Mew Mews and aliens."

Ichigo frowned. "Who would know…" she began and then noticed her ex. "What is HE doing here?"

Not in the mood for one of the neko's famous temper tantrums, the model held up a hand. "He's my doctor."

Ichigo's mouth hung open, and angry looks appeared on the faces of everyone else present, even Pudding and Tart. The other four mews stepped in front of Ichigo, weapons instantly in their hands. Tart whirled his clicking toy, and even Masha floated above the cat Mew's head with an angry look in his big pink eyes as he faced his namesake.

Before Zakuro could do anything, Kish had jumped forward and had one of his dragon sword at Dr. Aoyama's neck. Ichigo had her strawberry bell poised for attack, but Lettuce was holding her back.

"Don't attack." To everyone's surprise, it was Mint who spoke.

Ichigo's eyes gleamed. "Mint…I thought we all swore to hate this man with a passion."

Mint smirked slightly. "Calm down, Ichigo. I _do _dislike him. But consider this: he holds valuable information, including information about Zakuro's disease, and maybe even how to save her. Also, he holds the knowledge of Tokyo Mew Mew's true identities."

Ichigo frowned. "So? We wouldn't really be affected, if you think about it. My parents won't believe anything Mas…Dr. Aoyama…says, Pudding's father is in China so he won't care, you, Mint, probably have so many evil rumors spread about you because you're rich, this will be just another one, Lettuce…"

"I'm not the kind of person anyone would believe is a superhero. I'm just a shy bookworm," the mermaid finished.

"Not true!" Ryou exclaimed, but Mint silenced him.

"True, none of us would really be affected. But think of Zakuro. She's known not only in Japan, but worldwide. Rumors like that are exactly what break down a celebrity's reputation."

The Iriomote wildcat blushed. "Sorry, Zakuro. I guess you're right, though…but I still neither like nor trust you, _Doctor,_" she said to Masaya.

"And neither do we," Zakuro added.

Ryou nodded. "Pudding…make sure he doesn't escape."

The hyper monkey grinned. "With pleasure, na no da!" she exclaimed, then pointed to the navy haired man. "Ribbon Pudding Ring Inferno!" A large blob of yellow jelly surrounded Masaya, a frightened look appearing on his face.

Zakuro turned to him, eyes like purple ice. "Now, we've got you sufficiently restrained. Spill."

Masaya nodded, still terrified at the fact that he was encased in a blob of jelly, and began…

**Sofri-chan: **Sorry I had to cut the meeting into two chapters, it was getting too long. The next part will be Masaya and Ryou's information and the beginning of the search for Pie.


	8. Masaya STILL Trapped in a Blob of Jelly

Battles with Wolves

Chapter 8

**Sofri-chan: **Welcome to our next chapter, in which we discover more about Zakuro's sickness, see if Pudding will ever free Masaya from the blob of jelly. Today's disclaimer guest is Tar-Tar!

**Tart: **MY NAME IS NOT TAR-TAR!

**Sofri-chan: **Do the disclaimer.

**Tart: **NO!

**Sofri-chan: **Do it or I'll tell everyone about the time Pudding made you dress up as Santa Claus to bring presents to her brothers and sister…and Heicha pulled your fake beard off…and you realized too late Pudding had hung mistletoe on the ceiling…and…

**Tart: **Stop, I'll do it!!

**Tart (Disclaimer): **Sofri-chan does not own me or Pudding or Kish or Pie or well basically anything TMM. She owns Karra and Zalka and Yeffer and Dr. Davis they're not all in this chapter but still whatever.

**Sofri-chan: **(still babbling) …and then you blushed and Hanacha asked if you'd spilled cherry juice on your face and then brought you a napkin and…

**Tart: **STOP IT!!! Story, begin!

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Well," Masaya began, his voice barely audible through the jelly. "You all know what I was. Deep Blue. Though he is dead, I still have many of his memories, and…recognize his influence, or touch."

"So…Zakuro's blood samples had the mark of his influence?" Berry inferred.

"No," the much-disliked doctor replied, "not his, not exactly. The taint was not blue, but more of a red tint, very similar to his. Also very—faint. Barely noticeable."

A collective gasp went out from the group. It was Ichigo who broke the silence. "S—Scarlet Red?"

Dr. Aoyama frowned. "Who?"

Ryou and Keiichiro exchanged glances. "Does he need to know?" the chef asked.

The blonde nodded. "It would be best. Ichigo, Kish—I'm sorry, but it seems we'll be working with this man to save Zakuro."

Hate clouded Ichigo's pink eyes for a moment, then changed to resignation. "If it's for Zakuro…I think I can tolerate him."

Zakuro actually smiled. _I really do have such caring friends…_she thought. "Thanks, Ichigo," was all she said, however.

Masaya broke in. "What if I don't want to help you?"

Kish turned a cold eye. "You're trapped in a _blob of yellow jelly_," he said slowly, as though to a kindergartner, "If you don't help, you'll never get _out _of the blob of yellow jelly."

The others snickered, and Ichigo turned once again to her ex. She spoke, her voice again quivering with hate, but this time not for Masaya. "Scarlet Red is—was—Deep Blue's sister. She was his better in power, intelligence, cunning, and cold-heartedness. She wanted to destroy us not to avenge her brother, whom she was always at odds with, but to kill us and take over Earth. She realized we were the principal defenders of Earth, and knew she'd have to kill us. So she put a tracker on Pie, who was at the time…courting…Zakuro, and followed him, capturing her when she was alone. The four of us and Pie went to her spaceship and battled her and her two robots. But there's no way she could be doing this…"

Lettuce broke in, "Because she's dead."

"Long dead," agreed Keiichiro.

"Zakuro killed her," put in Mint.

Dr. Aoyama rested his hand on his chin for a moment, lost in thought. "Deep Blue…" he said at last, "did not have many memories of his sister. They did not get along…he was jealous. But I have a memory…of one argument. It seems—they were originally allied to destroy Earth together. Then…Deep Blue wanted to use living beings," he turned a meaningful eye on Kish and Tart.

"Us, of course," Tart put in. All nodded.

"Yes, you. But Scarlet didn't trust thinking beings…she wanted control. So—"

"She built robots," Zakuro put in from the bed.

Masaya nodded, then quirked up a blue-black eyebrow. "You know? So, there were robots there? When you fought?"

The wolf mew nodded. "Two. Pilka and Zalka, silver mechanical creatures shaped as human females. Their programming—Pie said it was so advanced, but to me it seemed simple: they were to kill anyone Scarlet told them."

The doctor's next words were frank. "Did they die?"

For a moment, the room was silent. _Did they die? _Of course. Zakuro and Pie had killed Pilka themselves, smashing her chief control, and Pudding…Pudding…

Suddenly, a strange sound broke out. Pudding was in tears. "Zakuro—Zakuro-onee-chan—I'm so sorry…it's my fault!" Pudding wailed.

Tart rushed over and put an arm around her. "Pudding—Pudding, what do you mean? It's not your fault! You didn't even do anything!"

"Y…yes I did," the monkey sobbed, "I—Zalka, to kill her I—pushed her over the edge—I don't even know how far she fell—she could have LIVED!!!"

"Yes," Masaya added coldly, not even seeming to notice Pudding's tears. "If even one of those robots had their inner drive functioning for even a minute, they could easily have infected Zakuro, no matter what the distance."

This caused Pudding to cry harder. "Zakuro's gonna…die…and I killed her!" she wailed. Tart continued to attempt comfort. Ichigo released herself from Kish and strode up to the captive doctor, her pink eyes seeming red with fury.

"Y—you BAKA!!" she yelled, almost slapping him. I say _almost _because she attempted to, but momentarily forgot the yellow jelly he was encased within. Her hand bounced off, flinging her backwards into Kish's arms.

"Whoa—OK there Koneko-chan?" he inquired. She blushed a strawberry shade.

A few minutes later, peace had again returned to the sickroom. Zakuro and Tart had convinced Pudding that it was _not _her fault, she had no way of knowing, and Zakuro was _not _going to die because of it. Ichigo had called the jelly-prisoner as many bad words as she knew, until Berry and Kish had convinced her to stop. Finally, when peace reigned, Ryou spoke, icy words directed at Masaya.

"So—have you any knowledge of what the disease is? How it is cured?"

He made a sealing motion across his lips. "I get insulted, I no tell," he said slowly, mocking Kish's earlier actions.

Pudding frowned and tightened her grip on her pudding ring. The jelly closed tighter, causing him to cough and choke for several minutes. When the monkey Mew at last loosened the butter-colored bonds so he could again breath, he was all words.

"The disease I know. It is in the alien's tongue, unpronounceable, so they mostly referred to it as Love Sickness. Not lovesickness as we humans experience it, but a deadly sickness that can only be cured by love. It is a truly deadly disease, a "slow killer," taking exactly forty-two days before the victim dies. Zakuro, when did you notice you had it?"

Zakuro thought back. "Nine days ago. Pie carried me home from the café because I had a headache."

**(A/N: Again, you might get mixed up with the timing, it's pretty crazy. Let me clear it up: Zakuro got sick nine days ago. On the sixth day of her sickness, Sardon crash-landed on the cheese planet. On the eighth day, she met Dr. Aoyama for the first time. We are now on the ninth day.)**

Masaya nodded. "So, we have thirty-three days remaining. In those days, Zakuro will experience headaches, nausea, pain all over her body, and other horrible things. There is only one cure, and it's rather cliché—the alien that created this disease had old-fashioned habits. The afflicted one must be fed a certain chemical compound by their true love, and only their true love. I know Blue and Scarlet discussed the compound at one point—but I have no memory of it."

Zakuro frowned. "Well, my true love is Pie, of course. So we just need to find this chemical and have Pie feed it to me?"

Ryou shook his head. "Another complication. Pie—I'm sorry, Zakuro, very sorry that you have to hear this—has gone missing. He hasn't been seen for six days."

"We've got to find him!" Ichigo practically shouted.

Tart shrugged. "But we can't work his tracking machines, and we don't know anyone who can!"

A silence filled the room as everyone tried to find a way out of this seemingly impossibly paradox. Suddenly, a quiet voice spoke up.

"I—I asked Pie to teach me how," the porpoise Mew said quietly, "I'm not good…but I can do it."

Ryou smiled broadly. "You're a lifesaver, Lettuce," he told her and gave her a big hug.

Keiichiro gave a slight grin. "So. We need a couple teams to get this done in time. Lettuce—take Ichigo and Pudding, get up to the spaceship and find Pie. Then go get him, please. Mint and Tasuku, you'll work with Masaya to try and find the chemical compound. Keep him imprisoned at all times, but don't hurt him. His memories of Deep Blue could hold the clue we need. Berry, Kish, and myself will keep fighting the Saint Rose Crusaders and keeping Earth safe. Ryou, you and Tart need to make sure the public doesn't find out anything's wrong with Zakuro. We can't have her career ruined in this endeavor. Everyone OK with that?" Keiichiro looked around the room

"What about me?" Zakuro asked.

Keiichiro turned and glared fiercely at his friend. "Bed rest," he said firmly.

_A shadowy figure seemed to step from the darkness onto the bare surface. His black cloak billowed around him as his pale face surveyed the area, and found what it wanted._

_A red tongue reached up to lick redder lips as he saw Zalka. "She is here…" he whispered, his voice sibilant. "She is here…she is more than I ever thought…"_

_Swiftly, he took a few long strides, carrying him over to the robot's mangled body. His pale arms snaked out and gently lifted the broken metal, like a mother cradling a child. He raised her silver mouth to his own and kissed it, just as gently. _

"_You and I…I can sense it, we were meant for each other," he whispered to the robot. Zalka made no response, laying limp, but his grin widened slightly. "You…you are all I hoped for and more…" _

_With that, he adjusted the body in his arms so he carried her bridal-style, then, leaving no footprints, stepped back into the darkness from whence he had appeared. _

**Sofri-chan: **Cliffie…muhahaha!!!


	9. SardonPie's New Addictive Hobby

Battles with Wolves

Chapter 9

**Sofri-chan: **Many people have told me the ending to the last chapter was confusing. Don't worry, you'll find out more soon. But for now, here is a return to Sardon + Yeffer. To save myself the hassle of bringing in new disclaimer guests, I have kidnapped Kish and made him my disclaimer slave.

**Kish: **I don't wanna!

**Sofri-chan: **I'll let you see Ichigo for 1 hour every 3 disclaimers. Deal?

**Kish (Disclaimer): **Sofri-chan doesn't own TMM. She owns Zalka, Yeffer, Karra, and the mysterious cloaked figure.

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CHAPTER NINE

"Are we there yet?"

The green Mew peeped down at the miniature black field of stars that was the viewing screen of the absent alien's tracker, trying to ignore the cries.

"Are we there yet?"

The pink Mew twisted the steering wheel yet again, her cat-ears out so she could hear the directions as Lettuce called them out. Unfortunately, the advanced hearing allowed their third companion's frequent, loud cries.

"Are we there yet?"

At the third cry, Ichigo cracked. Struggling to control her temper, she ground out a few terse words. "Define _there_."

Pudding, unable to figure out what Ichigo meant, continued bouncing around the confined spaceship. The cat-girl was just wondering what the consequences of wrestling her friend to the ground to make her stop would be when Lettuce called out from her position at the tracker.

"ICHIGO! PUDDDING! I FOUND THERE!"

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A slight breeze stirred the healthy green grass shoots. Sardon rested his hands on his chin, his purple eyes fixed on the verdant stems.

Since his arrival on the Cheese Planet, the amnesiac had quickly discovered that there wasn't much to do. Or so he'd thought, until he'd discovered a delightful, wonderful new hobby, an amazing and interesting pastime that he'd been missing out on for most of his life…..

You guessed it. Watching grass grow.

"Now why, wherever I used to live before this, did I never realize how fun this was before? Or maybe I did…." Sardon paused mid-thought. He didn't particularly like thinking about his lost memories, because every time he did, it had been a rather disconcerting experience.

He couldn't remember much. He was certain he'd dreamed about it, but the dreams were constantly flitting on the edges of his memory, refusing to come into the light. He could recall only a few things.

A female voice—or was it several female voices, all at once—shouting the word _ribbon, _followed by more words, which he could never hear. Something blue, and glowing, almost like solid water, that he seemed always to be reaching for, as though it were very important to him.

And the eyes.

Wide amethyst eyes, so cold when you first looked into them, but if you looked deeper, beyond iris and pupil and façade-like expression, there were emotions. Sometimes loss, sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy, sometimes affection. He'd decided that this must be someone he knew well, and perhaps cared about, as their eyes came often into his mind. A brother perhaps? A close friend? Or….he just didn't know.

So he devoted himself to watching the grass grow. It was so simple, so pure, so…he even dared to say innocent. The grass knew nothing of his inner struggle, it just grew and grew without caring….

_Thump! _

The noise jolted Sardon's head up. He was about to turn around and give Yeffer a sharp admonishment for slamming the door when he realized that the thump had come from in _front _of him. Near the desert of spongy rock—cheeserock, Yeffer called it—that he had crash-landed in.

Deciding to ignore the _thump _until anything came out of it, Sardon returned to the grass. Was it just him, or did it seem a nanometer or so taller? Darn, he always missed the exciting parts.

He didn't have to wait long before something did come of the _thump. _That something was a loud voice, echoing across Yeffer's front yard to reach Sardon's pointed ears—loud and high-pitched enough to make him clap his hands over the aforementioned ears.

Once the voice had retreated to a slightly more reasonable decibel level, Sardon realized that it wasn't just unintelligible screaming. It was a word. A single word, that seemed very random and held no meaning in the current situation.

"PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Aware of a presence above him, the amnesiac raised his purple eyes to meet another pair, these a vibrant pink. When the figure spoke again, Sardon realized that it was the owner of the voice.

"Pie, what are you doing, you silly alien? Hanging out on a strange orange planet, doing…something? What _are _you doing? And Zakuro's sick, and you haven't come for her in days—Pie, what's happening to you?"

Sardon blinked up at the strange girl (the voice was female). _Pie? Alien? She must mistake me for someone she knows. And who was this "Zakuro?" _

_Zakuro…that name seems familiar…_A vision of the eyes passed before him, but he ignored them. Something was going on here.

He turned to the pink-eyed girl, speaking in his calmest tones. "I'm sorry. I don't know who Pie is. My name is Sardon. I'm not the person you're looking for. I don't know anybody named Zakuro, and I'm not an alien. And for your information, I'm watching grass grow. It's enjoyable."

The girl stepped back as if in shock, and Sardon got his first good glimpse of her. She was of medium height, and looked to be maybe twelve or thirteen. She was wearing a short pink dress and red boots, and her hair was the same bubblegum-pink as her eyes. The strangest thing was—she had black cat's ears and a cat tail complete with a bell. In one hand she held a pink heart of some sort.

"Pie….Pie, you must be going crazy! You don't remember Zakuro? Zakuro F…."

The girl suddenly stopped speaking when a hand pressed over her mouth. A green-haired green-eyed girl appeared in Sardon's field of vision. She forcefully pulled the pink-haired girl back and began frantically whispering in her ear. After it became clear they were ignoring the man on the ground, Sardon returned his eyes to the grass.

_Darn it, it grew a nanometer while I was distracted! I always miss the good parts…_

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Lettuce continued to restrain Ichigo with her left hand while her right groped for Pudding. Once she had both the monkey-girl and the cat-girl under control, the mermaid quickly spoke.

"Guys, this isn't good. Remember that pile of metal scraps we saw? Pie must have crash-landed onto this planet, and the impact gave him amnesia. He can't remember himself, Zakuro, or anything about us. This is serious."

"Mmmf mrmph mm-hm," Ichigo attempted to say. Lettuce released her mouth, allowing her friend to speak. "What's so bad about that?"

"Because. Remember what Dr. Aoyama said? In order to be healed, Zakuro has to be fed the chemical compound they're researching _by her true love. _Since Pie can't remember a thing, he doesn't know that he's Zakuro's true love. The potion won't work unless he remembers."

Ichigo gasped, but Pudding giggled in a carefree manner. "So? As soon as he returns to Earth and sees Zakuro and Kish and Tar-Tar he will be remembering EVERYTHING! He will be Pie again, na no da."

"Hmm," Ichigo muttered. "That may not work…."

"…but it's our only option. Now let me be the talker. You'll scare him." As Lettuce dragged the pair across the yard to where Pie/Sardon still lay, Ichigo marveled at how more assertive she'd become. _No more timid little Lettuce Midorikawa letting everyone boss her around…must be Ryou that's changed her. _But before she had time to finish that thought, they were standing in front of the purple-haired alien.

"Mr…Sardon, sir?" Lettuce asked, a few traces of the old timidity in her voice. "We're….um…..friends, from a place you used to know. You used to know _us_ too, actually. I'm…Lettuce Midorikawa, and these are Ichigo Momomiya and Pudding Fong. We're Mew Mews, from Tokyo, on Planet Earth. We have a friend—somebody else you used to know, who needs your help. Will you come?"

Sardon frowned. _Those names—Ichigo, does it mean Strawberry? How did I know that? Are these really people I used to know? The green one's voice sounds a little familiar, and I could swear I've seen the yellow one before…_

_Either way, these people could get me off this planet AND provide a link to my memory. It's peaceful here, but…somehow I sense I'm not a peaceful person. I'd better go with them. I'll ask Yeffer to come, too. He seems so lonely… _

"Erm…Miss Lettuce? Miss Ichigo? Miss Pudding? Erm…nice to meet you. Well, I—suppose—I could consider your offer. But I need to ask my friend. Yeffer. He might want to come too. Let me…go talk to him." With that, Sardon rose and hurried into the house, trying to get away from the strange girls for a minute so he could sort out his muddled thoughts.

Lettuce glanced worriedly after him. "I hope he comes."

Pudding nodded in agreement. "He could be Zakuro's only hope, na no da."

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**Sofri-chan: **This will be continued in chapter 10. I know it seems kind of like an unfinished chapter ending but I had to split it into 2 chapters because it was so long. Sorry again for the long update wait. Until next time, Sofri out.


	10. An Extremely Cheesy Farewell

**Chapter Ten**

**A/n: **No, I'm not dead. Although it probably seemed like it. I was merely abducted by the Kingdom Hearts fandom, and sort of abandoned my poor TMM for far too long…

**Kish: **Hmph.

**A/n: **But anyway…I'm back. This MAY be pretty bad, as I haven't read/watched TMM in months, but here goes anyway!

**Kish: **And Sofri still doesn't own anything, except Yeffer and the Cheese Planet

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"Um….Yeffer? Yeff? Hey, Yeffer, are you there?" Sardon quietly called.

"Come in, Sardon," the orange haired man beckoned. He stood in front of the blocky stove in what passed for a kitchen in their house, his mop of hair hidden by a massive, floppy white chef's hat. The delectable smell of cheese stew quickly made its way to the taller man's nostrils. "What do you need?"

After taking a few seconds to appreciate the smell of Yeffer's extremely delicious cheese concoction, Sardon—or was it _Pie _now, wasn't that what the mysterious girls had called him—cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yeffer, listen, this is going to be hard but…"

Hearing the reserve in his new friend's voice, the quiet cheese lover turned around, worry evident in his eyes. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Sardon. Are you okay, Sardon?"

"Well….er….not exactly," Sardon felt extremely awkward. He'd realized that he wasn't a person very good with words, and, according to the data he was mentally gathering based on his current reactions, he was also not good with awkward confrontations. "I…we're not alone."

"Huh?" the fatter man's eyebrows quirked as he asked the question. "What do you mean, Sardon? Of course we're alone."

The purple haired man's awkwardness seemed to vanish at this statement, as he remembered how the young women had claimed they were in a hurry. "No, we're not. There's another space ship. At least, I assume there is. I didn't see it. But there are other people. Three girls. They're really weird, they're human but they are also part animal. They say their names are um…well, I forgot. Anyway, they're from somewhere called Earth and they claim to know me and they claim that my name isn't Sardon, it's Pie, and I need to come with them because someone I used to care about needs help. I don't know why, but I feel like I know them somehow. I have to go with them, Yeffer. They said you could come too, if you wanted….so you didn't have to be alone here anymore."

Yeffer's eyes widened. "I…wow, Sardon, you've got to understand that this is huge for me, Sardon. I've never even considered leaving before, Sardon. I always thought the Cheese Planet would be my home forever. I mean, sure, my sister Jean and her husband Jonas left, but…I never really considered me leaving. But I don't know, Sardon. You've become such a close friend to me, and I don't want to leave you, Sardon."

To the tall man's surprise, his shorter friend launched himself forward and hugged Sardon tightly around the waist. Soft, racking sobs echoed from where Yeffer's face was pressed against his chest.

"Then don't. Come with me. I don't….I don't want to leave you either, Yeffer," the purple eyed amnesiac said awkwardly.

"Then I will go, Sardon. The Cheese Planet became a refuge of peace so many hundreds of years ago, and its legacy will end with me. I am just…I am just happy that it was able to shelter one last person before it was abandoned."

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It didn't take either Yeffer or Sardon long to pack. Sardon had no belongings, save the clothes his friend had given him to replace those torn in the crash. Yeffer brought along several boxes of cheese, several jugs of water, clothes, his favorite pot (in which he always cooked his delicious cheese soups) and the photograph of his beloved Jaylee. When this was done, the pair of men met the three oddly-garbed girls outside of the house.

"Come on, Pie, it's time to go," the green one called Lettuce urged him softly. "We don't have much time."

"I understand you are said, Mr. Yeffer sir, na no da. But you will be happy with us," Pudding reassured the cheese lover.

And so, a tearful Yeffer and an extremely confused Sardon/Pie accompanied the three Mew Mews to a small ship that looked so familiar it gave the amnesiac a strong ache in his chest, which he tried to ignore. As the (now very cramped) tiny spacecraft took off, with Lettuce navigating and Ichigo at the helm, the two friends stood together at the back window and watched the orange and green surface of their beloved planet—which had been a home for one and a shelter for the other—disappear into the blackness of space, never again to be beheld by living eyes.

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**A/n: **So yeah, it was short, but I had to get back into the groove of writing TMM. Next chapter: Pie Returns to Earth!


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